Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interactions

The hydrophobic/hydrophilic character of some conductive polymer (CP) coatings can be switched in the function of the working conditions of these adaptive materials. We studied the influence of electrical stimuli and intrinsic physical characteristics (nature of the polymerizable core, dopants, the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Daniela Ionescu, Maria Kovaci
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-08-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/15/6867
_version_ 1797585969372725248
author Daniela Ionescu
Maria Kovaci
author_facet Daniela Ionescu
Maria Kovaci
author_sort Daniela Ionescu
collection DOAJ
description The hydrophobic/hydrophilic character of some conductive polymer (CP) coatings can be switched in the function of the working conditions of these adaptive materials. We studied the influence of electrical stimuli and intrinsic physical characteristics (nature of the polymerizable core, dopants, the droplet dimension and physical properties, surface roughness, etc.) on the CP wettability. A simulation strategy was developed for determining the contact angle (CA) of a liquid droplet on a CP layer with roughness. The method was tested for new reported CP composites, but with new dopants. The results indicate that the influences on the material wettability are correlated, and in practice, modification of more than one parameter converges to a wanted behavior of the material. E.g., the CP porous film of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) + [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyricacid-methyl-ester (PCBM) changes its wettability at voltages of up to 26 V, but if doping ions are inserted and the roughness geometry is modified, the voltage decreases twice. Our multi-parametrical study points out that the polymer wettability type is driven by the voltage, but this effect is tuned differently by each internal parameter. The thin films’ effect and the dopants (in-situ and ex-situ) significantly decrease the actuation voltage. We also illustrated that the wettability type does not change for specific sets of parameters.
first_indexed 2024-03-11T00:16:30Z
format Article
id doaj.art-6f51932b931545d0820d1839a88856ff
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1424-8220
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-11T00:16:30Z
publishDate 2023-08-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sensors
spelling doaj.art-6f51932b931545d0820d1839a88856ff2023-11-18T23:35:33ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-08-012315686710.3390/s23156867Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic InteractionsDaniela Ionescu0Maria Kovaci1Department of Telecommunications and Information Technologies, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies, “Gh. Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Carol I Blvd., No. 11, 700506 Iasi, RomaniaDepartment of Communications, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technologies, “Politehnica” University of Timisoara, V. Pârvan Blvd., No. 2, 300223 Timisoara, RomaniaThe hydrophobic/hydrophilic character of some conductive polymer (CP) coatings can be switched in the function of the working conditions of these adaptive materials. We studied the influence of electrical stimuli and intrinsic physical characteristics (nature of the polymerizable core, dopants, the droplet dimension and physical properties, surface roughness, etc.) on the CP wettability. A simulation strategy was developed for determining the contact angle (CA) of a liquid droplet on a CP layer with roughness. The method was tested for new reported CP composites, but with new dopants. The results indicate that the influences on the material wettability are correlated, and in practice, modification of more than one parameter converges to a wanted behavior of the material. E.g., the CP porous film of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) + [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyricacid-methyl-ester (PCBM) changes its wettability at voltages of up to 26 V, but if doping ions are inserted and the roughness geometry is modified, the voltage decreases twice. Our multi-parametrical study points out that the polymer wettability type is driven by the voltage, but this effect is tuned differently by each internal parameter. The thin films’ effect and the dopants (in-situ and ex-situ) significantly decrease the actuation voltage. We also illustrated that the wettability type does not change for specific sets of parameters.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/15/6867conductive polymerinterfacehydrophobichydrophiliccontact angledopant
spellingShingle Daniela Ionescu
Maria Kovaci
Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interactions
Sensors
conductive polymer
interface
hydrophobic
hydrophilic
contact angle
dopant
title Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interactions
title_full Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interactions
title_fullStr Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interactions
title_full_unstemmed Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interactions
title_short Induced Wettability Switch in Thin Films of Conductive Polymer Coatings Exhibiting Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interactions
title_sort induced wettability switch in thin films of conductive polymer coatings exhibiting hydrophobic hydrophilic interactions
topic conductive polymer
interface
hydrophobic
hydrophilic
contact angle
dopant
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/15/6867
work_keys_str_mv AT danielaionescu inducedwettabilityswitchinthinfilmsofconductivepolymercoatingsexhibitinghydrophobichydrophilicinteractions
AT mariakovaci inducedwettabilityswitchinthinfilmsofconductivepolymercoatingsexhibitinghydrophobichydrophilicinteractions